INVENTING LANGUAGE, INVENTING IDENTITY:THE ROLE OF NEOLOGISMS IN ANTHONY BURGESS’S A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

Abstract

This study investigates the role of neologisms in Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange (1962), focusing on the invented sociolect of Nadsat as both a marker of subcultural identity and a narrative strategy for shaping reader engagement. Through qualitative stylistic analysis, supported by corpus-based observations, the research examines how Burgess systematically embeds neologisms to encode the gang’s worldview and to regulate the interpretive process of readers. The findings reveal that neologisms such as droog (friend), moloko (drug-laced milk), krovvy (blood), and horrorshow (good) establish an insider lexicon that affirms solidarity and rebellion against mainstream society, while simultaneously constructing what Halliday (1976) terms an anti-language. At the narrative level, Nadsat functions as a strategy of defamiliarisation: violence and deviance are reframed in estranged terms, delaying comprehension and producing a subtle complicity as readers internalise Alex’s linguistic framework. Furthermore, the hybrid and inventive qualities of Nadsat confer temporal resilience, ensuring that the novel remains linguistically fresh and interpretively challenging across generations. The study concludes that Burgess’s use of neologisms transcends ornamental slang, functioning instead as a structural device that constructs identity, mediates morality, and secures the novel’s lasting cultural and literary significance.